The purpose of this experiment was to find out why Drosophila melanogaster is an important organism to understand eukaryotic genetics which was accomplished by first observing the sex of the flies and distinguishing between wild type and vestigial wing phenotypes.
We also determined whether the allele that caused the vestigial wing phenotype is sex- linked or autosomal and either dominant or recessive from flies that were in the F1 generation. Our data collected by observing the sex of the F1 generation and creating a punnett square suggested that the allele for vestigial wings is an autosomal, recessive allele.
From the inheritance pattern that we found, we were then able to determine the genotype of the parental generation. The parental genotypes can be hypothesized based on phenotypic observations and ratios of the F1 generation, which is the parental generation’s offspring. We also arrived at a 3:1 ratio of the wild type wing allele to the vestigial wing allele in the F1 generation of flies. We then tested the accuracy of our data by using the Chi squared test. Introduction/ Background Thomas Morgan Hunt studied the heredity of Drosophila melanogaster, fruit flies in 1907. …show more content…
We used Drosophila melanogaster, for this experiment because they reproduce easily, are easily maintained, have easily observable traits, and have a low chromosome number. The life cycle of Drosophila melanogaster begins with females laying eggs, then the eggs mature into three larval stages. The first stage is called the 1st instar larva, the second is 2nd instar larva, and the thirst is 3rd instar larva. On day eight, it is expected that the larva encases into pupa. Six days later, the fly encloses from the pupa. Finally, the flies mate ten hours after the enclosing occurs. Drosophila melanogaster are diploid. In males and females, chromosomes 2, 3, and 4 are the same in males and females. These are autosomes. Most of the genome can be found on chromosomes 2,3 and X. Many traits distinguish a male fly from a female fly. One trait is that males are usually smaller than females. Also, males have a rounded posterior while females have a pointed posterior. Furthermore, male flies have the last few segments of their abdomen as uniformly pigmented, or dark. In contrast, female flies have alternating dark and light bands. You could also distinguish them based on sex combs, found on males and external genitalia. which Drosophila males use to grasp the females’ abdomen and genitalia and to spread their wings (3). On males, the genital arch is dark, while females have a light abdomen. Drosophila melanogaster can have two different types of wings. The first is the vestigial wing mutation. The wings appear small and crumpled resulting in the lack of flying abilities for the flies. The vestigial gene is first expressed during embryonic development in group of cells that will form the wings. In late third instar wing disc, the gene is expressed throughout the wing region (2). The wild type wing is the second wing type. The wild type wings are observed as oblong shape with a smooth edge and visible veins. Drosophila melanogaster is one of the most important genetic models in modern biology. The flies are key to understanding the biology of higher anima. There is a similarity between invertebrates and vertebrates,
We also determined whether the allele that caused the vestigial wing phenotype is sex- linked or autosomal and either dominant or recessive from flies that were in the F1 generation. Our data collected by observing the sex of the F1 generation and creating a punnett square suggested that the allele for vestigial wings is an autosomal, recessive allele.
From the inheritance pattern that we found, we were then able to determine the genotype of the parental generation. The parental genotypes can be hypothesized based on phenotypic observations and ratios of the F1 generation, which is the parental generation’s offspring. We also arrived at a 3:1 ratio of the wild type wing allele to the vestigial wing allele in the F1 generation of flies. We then tested the accuracy of our data by using the Chi squared test. Introduction/ Background Thomas Morgan Hunt studied the heredity of Drosophila melanogaster, fruit flies in 1907. …show more content…
We used Drosophila melanogaster, for this experiment because they reproduce easily, are easily maintained, have easily observable traits, and have a low chromosome number. The life cycle of Drosophila melanogaster begins with females laying eggs, then the eggs mature into three larval stages. The first stage is called the 1st instar larva, the second is 2nd instar larva, and the thirst is 3rd instar larva. On day eight, it is expected that the larva encases into pupa. Six days later, the fly encloses from the pupa. Finally, the flies mate ten hours after the enclosing occurs. Drosophila melanogaster are diploid. In males and females, chromosomes 2, 3, and 4 are the same in males and females. These are autosomes. Most of the genome can be found on chromosomes 2,3 and X. Many traits distinguish a male fly from a female fly. One trait is that males are usually smaller than females. Also, males have a rounded posterior while females have a pointed posterior. Furthermore, male flies have the last few segments of their abdomen as uniformly pigmented, or dark. In contrast, female flies have alternating dark and light bands. You could also distinguish them based on sex combs, found on males and external genitalia. which Drosophila males use to grasp the females’ abdomen and genitalia and to spread their wings (3). On males, the genital arch is dark, while females have a light abdomen. Drosophila melanogaster can have two different types of wings. The first is the vestigial wing mutation. The wings appear small and crumpled resulting in the lack of flying abilities for the flies. The vestigial gene is first expressed during embryonic development in group of cells that will form the wings. In late third instar wing disc, the gene is expressed throughout the wing region (2). The wild type wing is the second wing type. The wild type wings are observed as oblong shape with a smooth edge and visible veins. Drosophila melanogaster is one of the most important genetic models in modern biology. The flies are key to understanding the biology of higher anima. There is a similarity between invertebrates and vertebrates,